Meet The Quif Art Team: Brooke Evans
Published date 08 May 2024
Introducing Brooke Evans - salon owner, multi-award winner and hair artist joining the Quif Art team this May.
Join us and get to know Brooke and her journey through the industry as we are so excited to have her join the team at Quif. Let’s dive in and get personal…
How long have you been in the industry?
“I have been in the hairdressing industry for 10 years, I did go into it prior to this but I was refused because I was too old, and the college wouldn’t take me on because I had got A-levels, but I persisted and here we are 10 years on!”
What are your specialities within the industry?
“My specialities within the industry would be colouring and styling, even though I’m an all-round hairdresser and do a bit of everything I probably am known for my colour when doing highlighting and balayage, especially when doing shoot work and shows.”
Let us know of any awards you have won, been a runner-up for, or any recognitions you have achieved.
“I have won creative head, entrepreneur, fame team project X and club star art team at the Fellowship, so I did three of the teams there so I won a place on each of those, fame team was great I learnt so much there. And then we won salon awards local salon, we won at the British Hairdressing Business Awards and there are a few others!”
What inspired you to become a hairstylist?
“I am quite a creative person, and I feel you can really change someone's life- that’s so dramatic but if someone is having a bad day, they come here to feel good and feel great about their hair, and it empowers them to want to do amazing things and that is great. Hairdressing as a whole, there are so many avenues to go down, you don’t just have to be a hairdresser who’s stuck behind a chair all day. If that’s not what you want to do, there are so many different things to get your creative juices going.”
What is a hair trend you are loving at the moment?
“I love the French bob with colour - so your creative panelling, especially around the front, I love to see that. The French bob is just beautiful!”
What were the risks of becoming a salon owner?
“So many! First, you just never understand what you’re going into. I am a hairdresser first and foremost, so I had to learn business which is not a walk in the park and isn’t something that you can learn overnight. Also, financially you’re investing so much into your salon, such as renovating and doing it up and the risk of having no clients! Financially you are at the hands of whoever walks through the door, and for us, we didn’t know COVID would be knocking on our door and we also got flooded! Those were two massive factors of problems we had to get over straight away when we had only been open for 3 months. So, lots lots of risks.”
Do you have any professional hair artists that you look up to, or love the work they produce?
“I love Sally Brookes, she is an amazing hairdresser based in London, I just love her whole vibe. She has such a laid-back vibe, and her hairdressing is just immaculate. I also really look up to my ex-boss, Tim, we’re still really good friends and I wouldn’t be here today without him, not only for creating the hairdressing journey for me but someone who was always at the end of the phone for whatever business reasons.”
Has owning a salon always been the career path you wanted to take?
“I think owning a salon from the start was always something I wanted to do, not necessarily to have my name on the door scenario but more for the fact that you can be yourself, make your own rules, and have your own opportunities. It is hard but 100% was something I wanted to go on and do.”
What does your morning routine look like before getting to the salon?
“My morning routine has changed a lot recently. So I have a fourth and a half month baby, so depending on what sleep I get the night before getting like 3 hours sleep. A Wednesday is great cause it means I have to get up and it’s all about me really, I have to get to the salon on time etc, before that, it’s having the Weetabix in the morning, making sure Odin is fed, and he’s ready for his day with his dad.”
Describe a perfect day at the salon.
“A perfect day at the salon is coming to work and everything being immaculate, I love an immaculate salon and having my day full, which I love, and back-to-back, I don’t like gaps in my day, which I don’t get very often anyway, to be honest, and throw someone with virgin hair in there and you get bonus points. I don’t like doing all the same things so if we have a mix of people in, varying ages, I like to do all ages and yeah, colours and cuts and gents, I am winning!”
How do you like to spend your time off work?
“I feel like this is a really tricky question because the reality of work for me is…it consumes my life but in a good way! Obviously, things for me have changed for me as I have got a baby and a perfect day is spending it with Odin and Alex and having a nice day out walking to a pub. I would say that is probably it, other than that I love to get creative in the salon and get some content, that is great.”
What’s a movie you could watch every day?
“Probably ‘Step Brothers’, I love ‘Step Brothers’.”
It’s takeaway night, what are you ordering?
“I have the ’beigest’ mouth ever and it is embarrassing! For me, it would be an Indian but I do get the same thing every time. It's a chicken tikka starter, a plain naan and a portion of chips with some popadoms. Absolutely terrible!”
What’s your death row meal?
“I would say a steak, a nice juicy steak! Sorry vegans!”
Who is your ultimate celebrity crush?
“Jason Mimowa. He’s in an advert at the moment and it keeps coming up and I’m like, WOW!”
If you could wear someone's hair for the day, who would it be?
“It would have to be Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac, amazing hair!”
Besides hairdressing, what is a skill you’d like to learn?
“It would be a tattoo artist, yes, definitely tattoos.”
What are you most excited about for the future?
“I am excited for the future because before I was very hairdressing lead, that was all I did, but it is so nice now to have that work-life balance. I would love for the salon to grow further and to make a real dent in the industry and to have a bit of legacy to leave behind that I’ve actually achieved something and that I haven’t just cruised through life.”
We can’t wait to see what Brooke will be bringing to the Art Team at Quif. Check out Brooke's intro video to the Quif art team here.
Follow Brooke at @br00ke.evans and @quifhair for all updates. Watch this space!
Comments
There are currently no comments, be the first to comment.